Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook’s status? Only time will tell

Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook may open the season at the team's No. 4 or No. 5 starter. Or he may not.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The trick to covering spring training isn’t just writing the stories after they happen. The trick is to anticipate them before they happen.

Which brings us to Aaron Cook.

I want to be very clear here. There’s no story involving Cook right now other than a bit of shoulder soreness and a quick bout with a flu bug. In the end, the story may be that his shoulder responds quickly and he’s in the rotation by next week.

But that said, Cook bears watching this spring. He isn’t the same pitcher who reported to spring training last year. As in, he won’t be cut as much slack by Jim Tracy and Dan O’Dowd. Not after a season in which he won six of 14 decisions with a 5.08 ERA and was shopped around the game before the trading deadline.

Are we media types concerned about Cook? No, not exactly. But we’re wondering about him, what with Felipe Paulino, who is viewed by the coaches as a solid big-league winner waiting to happen, in camp.

“You guys can be concerned if you want,” said Cook. “I’m not.”

Cook is long tossing, but there’s no schedule for his first taste of Cactus League action. If Paulino steps into the void and deals, we may have one of the bigger stories in camp.

It’s up to Cook. He may open the season as the No. 4 or No. 5 starter. Then again, it’s not difficult to envision him landing on the disabled list. So what’s going to happen?